It must be more frustrating to know you are capable of winning only for circumstances to decide otherwise, than never to be within a shout. To be close enough to truly believe it's possible, but for it not to materialise. This is how Lidl-Trek will be beginning to feel about this Giro d'Italia.
On the flat finishes, their sprinter Jonathan Milan has shown enough of his characteristic power to merit a stage win. On stage one, he ran out of teammates to help in the finale; on stage three, won by Paul Magnier (Soudal Quick-Step), he opened his sprint up too early; on stage six he was left perplexed, frustrated by the absurd parcours which resulted in a crash with 300m to go, a pile-up in which he had no choice but to join.
Sunday's stage to Corno alle Scale it was Lidl-Trek's other Italian star, Giulio Ciccone's turn to feel the grievance of a lost opportunity. Having deliberately lost time on Saturday's stage eight, Ciccone went into the second Apennine stage as the day's favourite. But he missed out on the day's initial break, being marked out by Decathlon CMA CGM – the thorn in his side not for the last time on the roads of the Emilia-Romagna region.
"Even today they didn't want me up there from the start, Decathlon," Ciccone said at the finish of stage nine, the frustration still visible. It was a day where Ciccone had to go in the breakaway if he were to have any chance of victory.
"I spent quite a lot to try [and get into the early break]. I tried many times," he continued. "And then it was just annoying the tempo in the bunch, and I had nothing to lose, so on the small kick [with 74km to go] I tried to jump because the breakaway was close, and even then I spent quite a lot to close this gap."
Entering the final climb of the day with Einer Rubio (Movistar), Ciccone looked the most composed of the two.
"I was feeling quite good in the last climb, so I tried to give everything, but it was not enough, the gap was not big, and the efforts from before were still in the legs, and at the end was a good try."
His sports director, Grégory Rast reiterated the sentiment: "He was the one with the green card [for the stage]. He tried, he wanted to go for the stage, and it was a very, very good try."
In the end, like at the start of the day, Ciccone's effort was undone by Decathlon again. Felix Gall's attack left only stage winner Jonas Vingegaard capable of following. The main casualty was Ciccone's countryman and namesake Giulio Pellizzari.
Read more: Giulio Pellizzari can win the Giro d'Italia – but not yet, not this year
The young Italian's travails on the final climb probably instigated Decathlon's surge in pace by the impressive Gregor Mühlberger. His leader, Gall, wanted to end the young Red Bull rider's podium bid. The Austrians were smelling blood, and Pellizzari's compatriot Ciccone also fell victim to their savage pace.
In what was overall a frustrating day for home fans, Vingegaard's teammate Davide Piganzoli offered a ray of sunshine with a third-place finish on the day.
But for Lidl-Trek the wait goes on, and it's becoming a frustrating one. Ciccone may have worn the maglia rosa for a day on stage five — a first in his career — but both he and his team will have wanted more from the Italian Grand Tour so far.
"Maybe in the next stage, when we have a stage with a climb in the start, which will be much better for me," Ciccone finished, in a fighting spirit.
